26 Facts About Petersburg Virginia

Petersburg Virginia rebuilt its railroads, including a connecting terminal by 1866, although it never quite regained its economic position because much shipping traffic would continue to the Norfolk seaport.

Petersburg Virginia has the oldest free black settlements in the state at Pocahontas Island.

Petersburg Virginia was founded at a strategic point at the fall line of the Appomattox River and settled by English colonists.

In 1646, the Petersburg Virginia Colony established Fort Henry a short distance from the Appamatuck town, near the falls.

Petersburg Virginia was enlarged slightly in 1762, adding 28 acres to "Old Town".

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Lord Cornwallis' forces coming up from the Carolinas into Petersburg Virginia occupied Yorktown on the York River, waiting to meet a Royal Navy fleet.

Residents' devotion to the cause of America two decades later during the War of 1812 led to the formation of the militia unit of the Petersburg Virginia Volunteers—who distinguished themselves in action at the Siege of Fort Meigs on the Great Lakes frontier on May 5,1813.

Petersburg Virginia Blacks established the First Baptist and Gillfield Baptist Church, the first and second oldest black congregations in the city and two of the oldest in the nation.

Many free blacks in Petersburg Virginia migrated to the growing urban community, despite increasing legislative restrictions.

Until 1860 Petersburg Virginia was a majority African American city, although the enslaved population had few legal rights.

Petersburg Virginia's industrialists processed cotton, tobacco and metal, then shipped the resulting products out of the region.

Petersburg Virginia responded to the silting-up of its Appomattox River port by building the 8 mile long City Point Railroad, which linked the city to City Point on the James River, reachable by larger Chesapeake Bay and Norfolk-bound ships.

At the time of the American Civil War, Petersburg was the second-largest city in Virginia after the capital, Richmond, and the seventh-largest city in the Confederacy.

Petersburg Virginia's population had the highest percentage of free African Americans of any city in the Confederacy and the largest number of free blacks in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In 1864, Petersburg became a target during the Overland Campaign of Union General Ulysses S Grant.

Since that time, Petersburg Virginia has struggled in competition with nearby Richmond, as the capital has grown to dominate the region in a changing economy as industries restructured.

Petersburg Virginia was endorsed by Arthur Wergs Mitchell, the first African American to be elected to the United States Congress as a Democrat.

Major black churches, such as First Baptist and Gillfield Baptist, formed the moral center of the Civil Rights Movement in Petersburg Virginia, which gained strength in mid-century and was a center of action.

In 1958 the City Council closed Wilcox Lake, a popular swimming hole in Petersburg Virginia to prevent the lake's public recreational area from being racially integrated.

In 1985 Petersburg Virginia again sought to annex more land from Prince George County.

Downtown Petersburg Virginia, known as Old Towne, has had new businesses established in the compact core: these include indie restaurants, bars and coffee shops.

In 2016, Petersburg Virginia faced the prospect of large-scale cuts to public services after a state audit found a $12 million budget shortfall and the prospect of insolvency by the end of the year.

Petersburg Virginia is located on the Appomattox River at the fall line, which marks the area where the Piedmont region and the Atlantic coastal plain meet.

Petersburg Virginia is a part of the Tri-Cities regional economy known as the "Appomattox Basin", which includes a portion of southeastern Chesterfield County.

Petersburg Virginia was an affiliate of the St Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds.

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Petersburg Virginia was home to the Petersburg Virginia Generals of the Coastal Plain League, a collegiate summer baseball league.